The huge costs facing Andy Burnham – and the financial tightrope he must walk October 1, 2026 Andy Burnham said he didn’t set out to deliver a “tub-thumping conference speech” but it was packed with huge pledges to take control over utilities and expand the state. Maurício Alencar considers just how costly his promises are in the long term – and in the next month. Andy Burnham had all the goodies for [...]
Mark Kleinman: Monzo deal needn’t be a hammer blow for UK tech October 1, 2026 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City editor and the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his City AM column. Monzo deal needn’t be a hammer blow for UK tech Monzo, Oaknorth, Revolut, Starling Bank – the queue of British fintech champions waiting to float in London is fast-disappearing. The latest to more-or-less evaporate? Monzo, if a [...]
UK bank lending growth to fall to three-year low October 1, 2026 Growth in UK bank lending is forecast to stall in the coming years as borrowers feel the pinch of uncertain economic conditions. Lending growth is expected to slow this year to 2.9 per cent before dropping to a three-year low of 2.2 per cent in 2027, according to figures from EY. The figures mark a [...]
Britain’s oldest brewery mulls future as cost pressures bite September 30, 2026 The family-run company behind Britain’s oldest brewery is exploring its future after wrestling with soaring costs and sliding sales. Shepherd Neame, which was founded in 1698 in Faversham, Kent and is the firm behind classic British beers Spitfire, Bishop’s Finger and Whitstable Bay, said it had begun a strategic review into its brewing operations “to [...]
Bailey calls for greater AI testing as risks to economy rise September 30, 2026 Andrew Bailey has called on governments to ramp up testing on frontier AI models before they are launched to the public, warning that advanced artificial intelligence posed sophisticated threats to the banking, markets and payments systems. In the first of a series of letters on the fledgling technology, the governor of the Bank of England [...]
UK disposable income rises as benefits payouts soar ahead of wages September 30, 2026 The average UK household’s disposable income increased in the second quarter of the year driven by a rise in benefit payouts. Real household disposable income per head – which measures the average spending and saving capacity of Brits – increased by one per cent in the second quarter to £6,577, new figures from the Office [...]
Bank of England’s Taylor: No need for interest rate hike September 30, 2026 Bank of England official Alan Taylor has downplayed the need to raise interest rates in the face of the looming energy crisis, saying he saw no evidence that price rises from an initial jump in fuel costs were filtering into the wider economy. External Monetary Policy Committee member said the case for rate hikes was [...]
Hull City’s ‘strange’ £55m loan beat Independent Football Regulator deadline September 30, 2026 Hull City took a loan from an American billionaire whose previous hedge fund was fined $1.8bn for fraud and insider trading shortly before mandatory Independent Football Regulator scrutiny of such deals kicked in. Following their promotion to the Premier League, Hull City secured a £55m loan against the club’s stadium from Point72 Lending Ltd, a [...]
End of triple lock: What is the double lock and will it work? September 29, 2026 Andy Burnham has pledged to drop the triple lock on state pensions for a so-called ‘double lock’ in Labour’s next manifesto in order to pay for his new National Care Service. In an address to party members, Burnham confirmed the existing triple lock mechanism will remain in place for the remainder of this parliament before [...]
Legal sector warns against tax ‘raid’ proposal on client account interest ahead of Budget September 29, 2026 London’s legal sector has sounded the alarm over government plans to cut interest on law firms’ client accounts to fund the justice department, warning it could drive some law firms out of business. The Ministry of Justice’s consultation on a proposal to introduce an Interest on Lawyers’ Client Accounts Scheme (ICLA) closed in March after [...]